Stalemate
by Krazie Kaity
Summary: The Wielders of the Triforce are forced to play out the final battle once again. With odds tipping it favor of evil its hard to believe that the Dark Lord wouldn't gain all three pieces and finally have the power he truly wished to possess. Dark One-Shot


**"We're actors — we're the opposite of people!"** -Tom Stoppard

It was a scene that had been played out countless times before. the north most tower of the once elegant Hyrule castle had been nearly reduced to nothing more that rubble; there a battle was still raging between two strong willed men. The only other person to witness this was the woman of Wisdom who had found herself trapped in a magical crystal that was preventing any damage to come to her. This time to dark skinned man of Power had the upper hand over the hero of Courage, indicating that this timeline would end with the evil man winning. Soon he would have all the pieces of the Triforce and his dark reign would take seed and blossom anew.

The larger of the two men backhanded the shorter blond sending him reeling back onto the cracked stone ground completely beaten and covered in his own blood. Heavily panting the hero in green pushed himself back to his knees and used his forearm to wipe the blood and debris from his face. With all obstructions removed his eyes fixed upon his foe who had took the moment to throw his head back as a mocking laughter thundered from his chest. Taking a sharp breath in the hero shifted his gaze to the encased princess and was met with the same hopeless expression he himself donned. Closing his eyes the memories of their lives passed came rushing back, and when he reopened them to look at her once again he knew what was going to happen next; the Dark Lord would strangle the life out of him, but not before stealing his piece of the Triforce from his dying breath.

Grimacing at the thought his vision found its way down to the master sword when one last option came to mind. Reaching out with a shaky hand he managed to pick up his weapon once more, he wasn't about to let that man have the victory he was expecting. Turning the tip of the blade to the ground he then used the sword as leverage while he pushed his beaten form back onto his feet. Hissing in pain he adjusted his grip from the hilt to the blade itself, turning the steel towards his body he gave one last heavy sigh, "Farore... forgive me."

Locking eyes with his enemy the corners of his lips turned up, he wanted him to see that was about to happen, and when evil yellow eye widened he knew he had his attention. Hearing the Dark Lord's desperate yell he did what he needed to to protect the sacred relic. The echos of heavy feet hitting the ground faded to nothingness as the hero in green plunged the blade clear through his torso. Feeling his body's warmth centralize at the wound his vision began to leave him as everything faded, and as he crumpled to his knees his very life left him as this form fell to the left, blood pooling around the desperate hero.

Coming to a halt the Dark Lord bent down and frantically grabbed the right hand of the recently fallen. Yanking it up he tore the glove off and examined the back of the pale hand for any trace of his treasure, but the glowing triangle was no longer present. The hero had managed to deal one final devastating blow by taking the Triforce of Courage with him into the afterlife. Anger and anxiety began swirling around in his mind as he tossed the fallen hero's hand forcefully to the ground. Returning to full height and shifting his attention over to the princess who still floated in place with hands clasped over her mouth. Taking a moment to enjoy her pain he knew a glimmer of hope still remained, he still had her, the wielder of the Triforce of Wisdom.

Storming towards the startled princess he shot a gloved hand through the magical shell gripping her upper arm and tore her from the only protection she currently had. Not giving her the chance to regain composure he began pulling her small frame along with him to their next destination. Her feet raced to keep up with his brisk strides to try and reduce the pain of his snake like grip all the while following him through the portion of the castle that still remained even while being in close proximity to the battle.

When arriving at their destination the dark skinned enemy shoved the princess down on the steps that lead upward to the throne. A small yelp escaped the royal woman when her back slammed into the worn edge of one of the stone steps. Righting her posture an ice cold expression overcame her once gentle face, her gaze locking onto the hulking man who stood above her.

"Give me what if rightfully mine," the growling voice commanded. Staring one another down the princess closed her left hand over her glowing piece as if to hide it from him.

"I, the true king of Hyrule, require the second piece. Now hand it over or I will force it from you along with your last breath," he threatened her once more. He didn't necessarily wish to kill the woman as she would make a lovely trophy for him to flaunt, but if he needed to end her life he would do so without a second thought.

Tension grew between the two of them as the princess shut her eyes letting all her past lives flash through her mind as if to try and find a way to end this. After several quiet moments her eyes opened once more only to immediately narrow when met with her foes gaze, "You are no king."

Bearing his teeth the man went for the attack in one fluid motion, the palm of his hand pressed down harshly and fingers encased her neck forcing the air to neglect her lungs. Petite hands quickly shot up and clawed at the giant gloved one trying with all her might to pry him off of her.

"You...will...only...obta...Triforce..." she barely managed to choke out as the man continued to constrict her airway, and it was enough to catch his attention.

Releasing the princess he drew his face closer to hers all the while ignoring how she curled up a bit while coughing and gasping, "What did you say?"

The air continued to burn her lungs until the coughing finally subsided; repositioning herself she looked him dead in the eyes and shared her knowledge, "You will only truly obtain the Triforce when all three pieces come together in harmony, and only become a king when this cycle comes to an end."

Pulling a hidden dagger from her breast she took the opportunity to lunge at her enemy's exposed neck only to have a monstrous hand crush her wrist forcing the blade to clatter on the ground. Snarling at her reckless actions his grip returned to her neck with much more force behind it. Watching as the princess writhed beneath him he could only eagerly wait for her piece to activate in a foolish attempt to save her. It always did when their lives came to play out the scenario, he would snatch it from her and leave her dead as proof of his deed. Watching as her movements slowed and the sound of her choking diminished into nothing more than motionless silence that it became clear that something wasn't right. Looking her face over he was met with her once lively deep blue eyes now unfocused and fogged over with death. Quickly removing his hand he momentarily froze before reaching out to her delicate wrist, lifting it he scanned her skin over her glowing mark had also faded from existence. She too dealt a blow by suppressing its power and only to take it to the grave with her.

Letting the limb fall from his hand back to her side he rose to his feet and clenched his fists tightly. He had failed to obtain either of the other two pieces, even though he had slain both the hero and princess he still had lost this round. That realization was what caused the mounting anger to finally boil over as the Dark Lord screamed out in an animalistic rage and the air around him began to violently spark to life. His destructive magic cracked though the room destroying the foundation and supports that had held the throne room together. The bricks couldn't withstand it any longer and broke free from one another collapsing down upon themselves and the Dark Lord.

It was yet another false victory, and one more timeline that was to end in a stalemate.


End file.
